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Sequester: Democratic theory of the case

Public health experts have also issued their share of warnings tied to the spending cuts, from fewer nurses in hospitals and clinics to less money for the state and local laboratories that monitor for whooping cough outbreaks and bioterrorism attacks.

“They’re the ones that check out that unknown white powder that shows up and you don’t know what it is,” Mary Selecky, secretary of Washington state’s Department of Health, said last month during a hearing organized by House Democrats.

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Air safety also remains a concern — both in keeping terrorists off airplanes and keeping watch on the skies.

The TSA — already known for its high employee turnover — is instituting a hiring freeze that will result in an additional 1,000 vacancies by Memorial Day and 2,600 openings by the start of the next fiscal year. And the FAA faces an April 7 deadline to close some of the nearly 150 control towers that made it onto its cut list.

“We’re gambling the lives and safety of our citizens in doing this,” said Rep. Bill Enyart, a freshman Democrat whose Southern Illinois district has two airports on the FAA list for possible closure.

Weather and storm forecasting faces its own problems as the Commerce Department considers a two to three-year delay in launching its newest satellites for tracking severe events like hurricanes and tornadoes. Add that to an aging satellite system and spending cuts that slice into the number of flight hours for NOAA aircraft, and many worry that meteorologists won’t have the best data to share with their audience.

“Think about the next community that gets hit with a super storm like Sandy,” said Marion Blakey, the president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association.

Forest fires also will be a high-profile threat as the fire season begins this spring. Already, the country is coming off one of the worst years on record in 2012, with the third-highest number of acres burned in U.S. history.

National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said in an interview that federal firefighting efforts will be under deep stress later this year because of sequestration.

Preparations take place all year, but the $1 billion budget will be hit immediately. And with 1,000 fewer seasonal employees on the job because of the spending cuts, Jarvis said he won't have the capacity to move firefighters into position and keep them there for "sustained attacks."

"This might sound like I'm just overhyping this, but it's reality. Take it from a guy who is an old firefighter," Jarvis told POLITICO.

It's just that kind of talk, though, that has drawn criticism from Republicans who say too much is being made out of spending cuts that Obama signed into law in 2011. “They need to be very careful on the messaging,” said former GOP Hill leadership staffer John Feehery.

Conservatives also note the private sector and many state and local governments have already had to absorb spending cuts during the recent recession; now it’s only right for federal funding to dry up too.

“What’s unthinkable and horrible is if we don’t address our spending problem and we actually have a debt crisis,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Added Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), “And that’s not a hypothetical."

Kate Brannen contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 8:03 p.m. on March 28, 2013.